diff --git a/helper/ndn-header-helper.cc b/helper/ndn-header-helper.cc
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..58f8dde
--- /dev/null
+++ b/helper/ndn-header-helper.cc
@@ -0,0 +1,60 @@
+/* -*- Mode: C++; c-file-style: "gnu"; indent-tabs-mode:nil -*- */
+/*
+ * Copyright (c) 2011 University of California, Los Angeles
+ *
+ * This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify
+ * it under the terms of the GNU General Public License version 2 as
+ * published by the Free Software Foundation;
+ *
+ * This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
+ * but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
+ * MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the
+ * GNU General Public License for more details.
+ *
+ * You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
+ * along with this program; if not, write to the Free Software
+ * Foundation, Inc., 59 Temple Place, Suite 330, Boston, MA  02111-1307  USA
+ *
+ * Author: Alexander Afanasyev <alexander.afanasyev@ucla.edu>
+ */
+
+#include "ndn-header-helper.h"
+
+#include "ns3/log.h"
+#include "ns3/packet.h"
+#include "ns3/header.h"
+#include "ns3/object.h"
+
+#include "ns3/ndn-interest-header.h"
+#include "ns3/ndn-content-object-header.h"
+#include <iomanip>
+
+NS_LOG_COMPONENT_DEFINE ("NdnHeaderHelper");
+
+
+namespace ns3
+{
+
+NdnHeaderHelper::Type
+NdnHeaderHelper::GetNdnHeaderType (Ptr<const Packet> packet)
+{
+  uint8_t type[2];
+  uint32_t read=packet->CopyData (type,2);
+
+  if (read!=2) throw NdnUnknownHeaderException();
+
+  NS_LOG_DEBUG (*packet);
+  if (type[0] == INTEREST_BYTE0 && type[1] == INTEREST_BYTE1)
+    {
+      return NdnHeaderHelper::INTEREST;
+    }
+  else if (type[0] == CONTENT_OBJECT_BYTE0 && type[1] == CONTENT_OBJECT_BYTE1)
+    {
+      return NdnHeaderHelper::CONTENT_OBJECT;
+    }
+
+  NS_LOG_DEBUG (*packet);
+  throw NdnUnknownHeaderException();
+}
+
+} // namespace ns3